Mr Lockley escaped Indonesian justice after officials in Bali deemed that any offence alleged against him occurred on an Australian airline and that it was therefore the domain of Australian authorities to investigate.

Henriette Friling, who was returning form Bali after an eight-day holiday, said it was a very uneventful flight.

“We were delayed about 40 minutes, but after that it went pretty easy,” the Norwegian said.

“I certainly didn’t recognise him sitting anywhere near me.”

His neighbours say he’s a “good ­Aussie bloke” struggling to deal with a broken heart.

Family and friends waiting for Lockley to arrive home in South Tweed this morning said he had “snapped” after the breakdown of his marriage and had gone to Bali in search of his wife.

“I feel sorry for him,” one neighbour said.

“He’s a good Aussie bloke. He’s been under a lot of pressure and he’s just snapped.’’

Indonesian police confirmed Mr Lockley was in Bali looking for his Indonesian wife, whom he had not seen in weeks and was in a state of stress.

Mr Lockley, wearing a blue T-shirt, white shorts and thongs, was yesterday escorted into Bali airport for his return flight by a host of officials.

Arriving at the airport shortly before Virgin flight 44’s scheduled takeoff time, Lockley made no comment.

He was escorted by airport and civil aviation officials, Immigration and Australian Consulate officers. It is believed there were also AFP officers with him.

At the departure gate, Mr Lockley shook hands with one of the officers and said “thank you” before he was taken on to the plane.

The 27-year-old plumber was arrested at gunpoint last Friday after a hijack alert from the Virgin Australia plane’s pilot saw a massive security operation at Bali airport.

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